BURKATRON

I finally took the plunge and invested in the muji acrylic drawers  that are a firm favourite with bloggers and make up addicts! oh boy.. they're just the handiest thing ever and whats not to love about keeping everything tidy? I've filled mine with my everyday make up; the top drawer is for my favourite essentials that I always reach for.. foundation, mac skinfinish powder, mascara, blusher and my eyebrow pencils.  I've filled the second drawer with my most used lip products and some other bits and bobs! I wish I'd bought one of these earlier; the flip top lid makes life easy when I'm scrabbling around for my concealer in the morning! I'm definitely going to get some more of these muji wonders for my skincare and nail products... quite possibly the best £11 I've spent this year! have you got anything similar.. any recommendations? caroline x

I always get excited by new brands (hmmmm ...did someone say geek?) red carpet queen is a new brand to me so I wasn't sure what to expect; I was sent these awesome looking nail polishes by the hut  to test drive and I'm pretty impressed with them.  firstly I'll say they're far too much fun, the packaging is a brilliant novelty! (probably the closest I'll get to holding actual bullets- probably a good thing considering the amount of serial killer documentaries I watch!)  I've been wearing controversy for 4 days now- I'm beginning to see very small chips beginning on my right index finger & thumb but the others and my left hand remains chip free (I have a special skill for chipping polish so I'm always impressed by anything that lasts longer than 3-4 days!) they've been formulated with an extra high dose of nitrocellulose to keep them strong and long lasting so this is probably why! the colours of the polishes are really something...

wow. that was my initial reaction when I opened these nail polishes for the first time. illamasqua  seem to have finely tuned the knack of creating shades more unique than others out there on the market (and almost always better quality too)  I wanted to review these separately but they're so damn good I had to do them all together because I'm so impatient to show you them on!  if you're looking for the perfect spring/summer nail colours these may just be for you: superstition is a knockout hot pink coming soon to their collection!! (I'm super excited to swatch this one for you!) this is one crazy, vibrant, beautiful shade!  this is how it looks on: the varnish is rich, bright and long lasting. I find it really hard to critise the formula of illamasqua polishes because all the ones I've used have been pretty darn perfect.  for full intensity I'd apply two coats (it's almost a one coat polish because the pigment is so good) next up is my favourite out of the ...

as you may or not know I'm on holiday this week (it's my birthday trip to new york hurrah!!) it feels really strange scheduling a post in advance as I usually write them on the day but here I am (...sort of!) I love packing for holiday; I'm always torn at what to bring with me but I'm being pretty strict this time (must. not. go. over. luggage. allowance. caroline!) I wanted to bring my everyday make up with a few extras to ramp up my look in the evening! I love peeking into my friends make up bags so I hope you guys enjoy this post! so here's a little run down of the contents of my travel make up bag! 1.  mac lady danger lipstick : this is my all time go-to red lipstick for nights out & cocktails! 2.  illamasqua precision ink in havoc:  this is my current most used ink eyeliner and lasts through the day without smudging! 3.  maybelline dream touch concealer:  this is my favourite concealer for touching up dark circles. perfect for early morning flights...zz...

oh my, it's love. I can't remember the last time I was this excited about the launch of a new collection, I only discovered illamasqua last year and loved it at first try. the launch was a few weeks ago and I've been itching to share these polishes with you! every now and again a nail trend arrives and the last few have left me underwhelmed (leather, concrete & velvet nails? nope not for me!) I'mperfection  is the name of this collection (I'm perfection...get it!) a clever and thought provoking campaign designed to encourage us to embrace our so called 'flaws' rather than hiding behind them. I for one can't wait for the arrival of my summer freckles and a less made up face- this campaign is everything I love! the collection has some striking blushers and lipsticks that you may want to investigate but for me my heart has been well and truly stolen by these pastel critters.. taking inspiration from nature these rather ingenious nail polishes were born!...